Corn husking machine



Oct. 13, 1942. R. COVER 2,298,550

CORN HUSKING MACHINE Original Fil-ed Jan. 22, 19:58 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 R. COVER CORN nusxme MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 22, 19 38 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 13, 1942. R. COVER CORN HUSKING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 22 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 Oct. 13, 1942. R CQVER com: nusxme MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 Original Filed Jan. 22, 1938 I 'IIIII Oct. 13, 1942. R COVER CORN HUSKING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 22, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 IIIIIIII II- III ll llll I ill-llllllll [x ll-IIII Ill v Oct. 13, 1942. R. COVER CORN HUSKING MACHINE e Sheets-Sheet 6 Original Filed Jan. 22, 1938 Oct. 13, 1942. R COVER 2,293,550

com: HUSKING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 22, 1938 8 Sheets-Sheet T Oct. 13, 1942. R. COVER 2,298,550

CORN HUSKING MACHINE Original Filed Jan. 22, 1958 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 Patented Oct. 13, 1942 more stares PAT tries CORN HUSKING MACHINE Ralph Cover, Westminster, Md.

18 Claims.

The invention relates generally to apparatus for preparing green corn for canning or other similar treatment and primarily seeks to provide a novel machine structure for efiiciently husking the corn as it is received from the grower and prior to intended cutting or stripping thereof.

In order to properly prepare green corn, as received from the grower, prior to cutting or stripping thereof for canning or other similar treatment, it is necessary first that the husks and all portions of the ears upon which the grains are not directly disposed be removed without injury or abuse to the relatively delicate grains, It has been found that the husks can be mechanically removed from the ears by longitudinally slitting the husks, debutting the ears at the annular shoulders of the first grain circle, ruflling the husks so as to minimize the clinging of the husks to one another and to the grain rows, and thereafter subjecting the ears to the action of husking tumblers or rolls for complete removal of the husks. It is the purpose of the present invention to provide a novel machine in which is embodied mechanisms novel in construction and arrangement and which cooperate in performing with great facility the various combined functions referred to. plication is a division of my co-pending parent application filed January 22, 1938, Serial Number 186,419 and which particularly stresses the corn ear debutting means and the associated mechanisms for feeding the corn ears to and from said debutting means.

Another objmt of the invention is to provide a machine of the character stated in which is embodied novel means for presenting the corn ears to the debutting knives, and husk slitting means for slitting the husks while said ears are moving toward said debutting knives, said slitting means being mounted in a novel manner for following the contours of corn ears engaged thereby so as to efiiciently perform their slitting function without cuttin away or injuring the tender grains of corn.

Another object of the invention is to provide The present ap.

and rapid removal of all husks without damage to the tender grains of corn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel machine of the character stated in which there is included feed-in chain equipment for carrying the corn ears from a receiving trough into engagement with driven feed-in rollers which act to transfer the corn ears by endwise movement, small ends foremost, to aligning devices including aligning rolls and opposing presser wheels effective to position the ears with their butts properly aligned with rotating debutting knives, means for mounting the rolls and wheels for independent movement to enable them to properly engage and compensate for the varying contours of corn ears of different sizes and including presser plates engage'able with the corn ears to cause said wheels to follow the contour of said ears, carrier wheel assemblies for engaging corn ears aligned by said aligning devices and carrying them past the debutting knives and for directing the debutted ears to the husking rolls, slitting knife equipment presser plates supported in position for slitting the husks lengthwise of the ears while traveling to the aligning position, and relatively stationary rufiling'fingers associated with the carrier wheel assemblies and so positioned that the husks previously slit while moving into butt aligning position are torn thereby from their clinging engagement with the grain rows as the ears are moved through the debutting knives.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of husking corn which comprises longitudinally slitting the husks on the corn ears, then debutting said ears, then gripping and tearing the longitudinally'slit husks from the debutted ears.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel method of the character stated including the step of ruffling the longitudinally slit husks prior to the tearing thereof from the corn ears.

With the above and other obj e-cts in view which 7 will more fully appear, the nature of the invention will be more clearly understood by following the description, the appended claims, and the several views illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying the features of the invention, parts being broken away.

Figure 2 is a vertical central longitudinal section taken on the line 2--2 on Figure 3.

Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view taken on the line 3-3 on Figure 1.

Figure 4 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 on Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical cross sectional view taken on the line 5-5 on Figure 1.

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary end elevation looking in the direction of the debutting knives, a portion of the head housing being broken away, and aligning rolls, feed-in rollers and chain being omitted.

Figure 7 is a horizontal sectional-viewthrough one of the debutting knife-assemblieszand cooperating carrier mechanisms.

Figure 8 is a vertical longitudinal sectionalyiew taken on the line 8-8 on Figure 3.

Figure 9 is a detail view illustrating the slitting knife and its mounting.

In the machine herein illustrated as an example of embodiment of the invention there is included a bed 2 upon which may be mounted an electric motor 3. A frame-4 located upon the bed 2 serves as a mounting for-the husking tumblers 5 and as a support for the 'head frame 5 upon which the major portion of the mechanisms of the present invention are carried.

Driving assembly A chain drive 1 maybe employed to drive the cross shaft for :the tumblers 5 upon which .there is mounted a bevel gear 8 engageable with a complementary gear carried upon the head drive shaft 9.

Referring-now to'Figs. 5 and-.8 the drive shaft S'has, at its upper end, a bevel gear lflmeshing with a similar ear ll carried by thehorizontal drive shaft l2 for the feed-in chain drive sprockets IS. A gear Ha identical to 'the gear H is mounted upon the opposite end of the drive shaft l2 and each of the gears H and Ha are arranged in mesh with gears 15 :carried upon vertical intermediate shafts l6 one :located upon each side of the head frame'fi and serving respectively to drive the two horizontal parallel and spaced apart primary drive shafts I! through cooperating-bevel gears l8 and I9.

Carried upon the primary shafts 11 there are helical cut gears '21, 22 and 23 and spur gears 24. Of these gears, 2| and 22 are in mesh respectively with similarly cut pinions 25 'and 26 upon the feed-in roll drive shafts 21 and 28, the gears 23 are in 'mesh with gears 29 on the presser wheel drive shafts 3| and the gears 24 are in mesh with the intermediate gears 32 (see Figs. '7 and 8) which gears 32 are in turn in mesh with gears 33 carried by the carrier wheel drive shafts 34.

Referring now to Figs. 4, 5 and '7, the drive shaft I2 carries, between the feed-in chain sprockets l3 and shaft bearings 35, a pair of helical cut gears 36 which mesh with similarly cut gears 31 carried upon horizontal, parallel and spaced apart shafts 38. The shafts 33 comprise the debutting knife drive shafts and are located relative to the operating parts. on the head frame 6, as best indicated in'Fig. 5.

Mounted perpendicularly with respect to the shafts 38, and in a horizontal plane, areintermediate shafts 39 having bevel gears 4| at their inner ends in mesh withbevel gears 42 carried upon the adjacent portions of the shafts -3B. The intermediate shafts 39 are further provided with helical cut gears 43 at their outwardly directed -shafts 3 I.

From the foregoing it will be noted that all :power operated parts of the machine may be driven from a single power unit and all are possessed of positive drive connections at fixed relative speed ratio although, as will hereinafter sappear, each sub-assembly may perform its full andrequired operation, as to time and amplitude, without regard to similar work phases of the remaining and cooperating sub-assemblies.

Feed-in assembly Referring to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 5, the feed-in mechanism may comprise a frame 5| mounted upon the'head' frame 6 and extended generally in a horizontal direction. The frame 51 is formed with spaced apart inner wall surfaces 52 which diverge upwardly, as the walls of a hopper, to provide a receiving table upon which the ears of corn may be dropped for disposition upon the endless feed-in chain 53, which chain is positioned horizontally along the space immediately between the lower edges of the surfaces 52. A pair of idler sprockets 54, rotatably mounted upon the frame 5|, carry one end of the chain loop, and the other end thereof being disposed over the driven sprockets l3 upon the cross shaft l2.

The chain 53, as best shown in Figs. 2 and 5, is formed with its outermost links provided with teeth'55 upon which the ears of corn may rest and which prevent relative slippage between chain and ears as the ears are drawn thereupon toward the feed-in rollers 56 and 51.

The feed-in rollers 55 and 5'! are arranged in pairs, the rollers 56 being carried on the shafts 21 and the rollers 5! 0n the shafts 23. The shafts 21 and 28 are rotatably mounted within hollow arms 58 an 59 respectively, each of which is in turn pivotally mounted upon the adjacent shafts I1, through the medium of anti-friction bearings GI and 52 respectively, as indicated in Fig. 8. Tension springs 53, see Figs. 2 and 5, serve yieldingly to draw the arms 58 and 59 with their corresponding feed-in rollers 55 and 51 upwardly until resisted by stops 64, with the trough formed by the pairs of rollers in operative registry with the corn as it travels endwise upon the chain 53.

This yielding mounting for the driven feed-in rollers permits the rollers to be drawn downwardly to pass the stalk of the ear therethrough, as when the ears are caused to move in a downward direction, during operation of the aligning mechanism. In addition such mounting of the rollers 56and 51 may assure continuous passage of ears of all sizes from the chain to the aligning rolls .while maintaining the under side of each ear in a certain, predetermined and fixed horizontal position and during this feeding movement of the corn ears'the springs 53 will yield lightly for ears of larger diameter and the stops 64 serve to set the rollers for exact registry with ears of minimum diameters.

.As shown in Figs. 3 and '5, guide rails 66 secured to the head frame 6, as shown at 61, may be employed to preclude lateral displacement of the ears during their travel along the inner end of the chain 53, over the rollers 56 and 51 and into engagement with the aligning mechanism.

Aligning assembly The aligning assembly constitutes a very important assembly of the present machine.

This assembly, as shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, comprises aligning rolls II, fixed upon shafts I2 which in turn are rotatably mounted upon antifriction bearings I3 carried by sleeves l4 slidably located in the fixed housings "I5 upon which the aligner roll drive stub shafts 48 are mounted. As previously described, the axes of the two aligner roll shafts extend. angularly downwardly toward one another in a common vertical plane including the axes of the pressure wheel drive shafts 3i, and the sleeves I4 may thus move along such angularly extending axes to cause the aligning rolls to move toward and away from one another, and at the same time to vary the position of the work engaging and concave surfaces I6 of the rolls correspondingly toward and away from the central vertical plane of the aligning assembly, as well as downwardly and upwardly. It is this feature of the aligner roll mounting that permits the corn to move with its under side in a certain and predetermined fixed path from the feed-in chain and horizontally over the aligning rolls even though successively treated ears may differ widely as to their diameter.

Driving engagement between the stub shafts 48 and roll shafts 12 is maintained by splining the telescoping parts, as indicated at 'I'I, so that free longitudinal movement of the shafts I2 may take place as the sleeves M are shifted.

Before describing further the structural and operating characteristics of the aligner rolls it is necessary to note the relationship of the presser wheels with respect thereto. These wheels 18 of which there are two in number, are independently mounted and driven as are the two aligner rolls H each being fixed upon one of the drive shafts 3i (see Fig. 4). The shafts 3| may be supported on anti-friction bearings I9 and BI carried within housings 82 pivotally mounted, through the medium of anti-friction bearings 83, upon the adjacent shafts I I (see Fig. 8). End thrust bearings 85 may serve to prevent axial movement of the wheel shafts 3i which might otherwise occur during operation. The presser wheels 78 may thus be swung through an arc in a vertical plane common to the axes of the aligner rolls ll as they are caused to do during passage of an ear of corn thereunder in adegree determinable by the diameter of the ear.

Means for limiting downward swinging movement of the presser wheels I8 to a position just sufficient to insure of their engagement by ears of minimum diameter may comprise stop lugs 35 formed on the housings 82 which may engage surfaces 86 formed on the head frame 8. Hand grips 8'. may be provided on the housings 82 for manual manipulation of the presser wheel and aligner roll assemblies.

Referring to Figs. 3 and 4, the aligner shaft housings I5 each have pivotally mounted thereon, at 89, plates 9!, formed with teeth 92 in arcu-ate array and engageable with teeth 93 circumscribing the outer walls of the sleeves 14 in such manner that pivotal movement of the plates 9| results in right line movement of the sleeves 14 with their associated aligner rolls II. Pivotally connected to the plate 9| on the remote side of their pivotal axes 89, are rigid links 90, which in turn are pivotally connected at 94 to bell-crank elements 95 pivoted upon the portions '96 of the housings I5, on the outer sides of the vertical shafts 45. The elements 95 have, pivotally connected thereto at 91, arms 98 provided with arcuate slotted portions 99 at their outer ends within which cylindrical stops IOI are disposed and eccentrically mounted upon the portions I02 of the housings 82. Tension springs I03 interconnect the bell-cranks 95, on the center 91, and the portions I02 of the housings 82 on the axes of the mountings for the stops I 0 I, thus to maintain the stops IOI yieldingly engaged with the innermost ends of the slotted portion 99 of arms 98. This arrangement operates through the linkage described, to cause the aligner rolls II to move away from the central working axis of the machine as the associated presser wheels I8 are raised and to move toward said axis as the wheels I8 are lowered, although, because of the slotted arms 98 and springs I03, the wheels 18 may move downwardly Without accompanying relatively inward movement of the aligner rolls 1!. The normal relationship between presser wheel movement and aligner roll movement may be adjusted by the simple expedient of turning the cylindrical stops IOI on their eccentric mountings, as by turning the heads I04 thereof.

Each of the presser wheels 18 has associated therewith a fixed presser plate I05 fixed, as shown at I06 in Figs. 3 and 4, to the adjacent housing 82 and each presenting a work engaging surface I01, see Figs. 2 and 4, extending away from the lower portion of the adjacent presser wheel in the direction of travel of the corn and fashioned to conform substantially to the contour of an ear of corn as it rests in position for delivery to the carrier wheels.

Located beneath the surfaces I 01 of the presser plates I05, and for engagement with the under sides of the ears as they pass into position prior to delivery to the carrier wheels, are a pair of retarding plates I08, see Figs. 2 and 6. The retarding plates I08 are pivotally mounted at I09 upon the frame 6 and each-is drawn yieldingly upwardly upon its pivotal mounting by adjustably mounted tension springs I I0, to positions determinable by adjustable stops III. In Fig. 6 I have indicated in dot and dash lines the elevated position of the retarding plates, as when engaging the stops II I. The stops III are preferably set so that the under side of the corn may depress the plates slightly against the tension of the springs I I 0, as it is passed from between the presser wheel and aligner roll assemblies thereby to cooperate with the presser plates I05 in retarding endwise movement of the ear so that it is compelled to follow over and downwardly about the curvature of the spaced aligner rolls, for purposes hereinafter specifically described. As in the case of the surfaces I0! of the presser plates I05, the retarding plates I88 are formed with work engaging surfaces II2 which substantially conform in contour to the ear as it moves to its final aligned position prior to delivery to the carrier wheels. The plates I08 are each provided with arm portions I I4 presenting bosses against which the adjacent under side portions of the presser plate I05 may bear, when the presser wheel assemblies move toward their downward limit of travel, thus to urge the retarding plates downwardly against the force of the springs I I8 and to facilitate descent of the ear into engagement with the carrier wheels.

With reference to Fig. 2, the concave work engaging surfaces of the aligner rolls H are preferably transversely grooved, as are the similar concave surfaces N5 of the presser wheels 18, in order to assure non-slipping engagement with the ear. In like manner the feed-in rolls 56 and 51 may be formed with transverse grooves on the outer surfaces thereof to assure efiiciency in the feeding of the ears to the aligning assembly.

Cutting assembly The cutting assembly includes a pair of circular cutting knives H8 and H9 fixed upon hub members I2I, as by screws I22, which in turn are mounted upon the shafts 38 to turn therewith as shown in Fig. '7 and cooperating pairs of driven carrier wheels between which the corn is engaged and carried downwardly past the cutting knives.

The cutting knives IIII and IIS are arranged with their cutting edges overlapping at a point directly beneath the central axis of the ear, at the shoulder thereof, when in its final aligned position. As indicated in Fig. 6 the outwardly directed face of each of'the knives, on its ground cutting edge, is serrated as shown at I23. 1e direction of rotation of the knives is toward one another with respect to the descending ears.

The carrier wheels may comprise two pairs of wheels I24 and I25 respectively, the wheel I24 being mounted upon that end of each of the shafts 34 adjacent to the cutting knives and the wheels I25 being mounted upon the opposite ends of the shafts 34. The wheels I24 are formed with radially extending grip teeth I26 at the midportions of their peripheries, and the wheels I25 with similar teeth I21 but of lesser height. Both sets of teeth I26 and I21 are inclined slightly in the direction of rotation of the wheels thus to provide positive grip on the ears as they contact therewith. The spacing of the carrier wheels relative to the length of the shafts 34 and to the cutting knives is such that the ears are gripped at points spaced apart intermediate their lengths and forwardly of the butt section but sufiiciently close thereto that the ears may be firmly held against displacement during the actual debutting process.

Each of the driving gear trains for the carrier wheel driven shafts 34 previously described is contained within a housing I29, said housings being in turn pivotally mounted about the centers of the primary shafts I1, and each housing I29 is drawn yieldingly upwardly by tension spring means I3I until resisted by engagement between the stop surfaces I32 and I33 of the housing and head frame 6 respectively, as shown in Fig. 6. This arrangement results in holding the pair of carrier wheels in immediate position for engagement with the ear as it moves over and about the aligner rolls H to its final aligned position, at which time the carrier wheels, by their tooth portions, function to grip the ear and to carry it downwardly past the cutting knives thereby to sever the butt. The provision of the pivotal mounting for the carrier wheel assemblies and the springs I3I serves to urge the opposed carrier wheels of each pair toward one another and hence toward the corn ear presented thereto so that no matter what diameter corn ear is aligned for debutting, the wheels may grip it with uniformness and carry it downwardly past the driven debutting knives.

In order to facilitate removal of the ears from engagement by the teeth upon the conveyor wheels after the butt has been severed, the housing I 29 is provided with flanges I34 and I35 which extend radially beyond the teeth I26 and I21 respectively below the center lines of the conveyor wheels as best shown in Figs. 6 and '1.

Husk slitting and rujfling elements Secured to one of the presser plates I05, and extending outwardly from its work engaging surface I01, is a slitting knife I31, as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, so arranged that as a corn ear is moved endwise under the presser plate, just prior to its movement into final aligned position, the husk will be slit longitudinally for a portion of its length. Inasmuch as the knife I31 is fixed relative to the movable presser assembly, the depth of penetration of the knife edge through the husk will be uniform, regardless of ear size, and hence may be adjusted so as not to cut into the grain rows of the com. This slitting of the husk enables the preliminary step of the husking process to become more eflicient as carried out by the rufliing elements.

The rufiling elements comprise relatively stationary and sharply pointed fingers I38 fixed in the flange portions I34 and I35 of the housings I29. These fingers I38, see Fig. 6, are pointed and inclined upwardly at about the central horizontal plane of the carrier wheel assemblies and serve as a corn ear is carried downwardly between the wheels during the operation of the cutting knives to engage with and tear away or loosen the husk which previously has been subjected to slitting by the knife I31. When the ear has been delivered from the carrier wheels and permitted to fall downwardly toward the husking tumblers 5, it will have its husk partially free from the grain rows and in proper condition for complete husking under action of the tumblers 5.

It will be noted, see Fig. 1, that while the corn ears are caused to fall downwardly in the same position occupied during their travel between the carrier wheels, that there is disposed upon the bed frame 4 at the head of the tumblers 5, a guide platform I4I presenting an inclined upwardly directed surface beneath the falling ears. The inclined surface of the platform acts to cause each ear to strike, butted end first and to rebound so that the ear strikes the tumblers tip first. In striking tip first, the ear is thus best presented to the action of the rolls for husking, including the removal of its silk.

Operation In operation, the debutting machine, constructed as herein described, may be fed by placing the green corn C as it is received from the grower directly upon the feed-in chain 53, which act is facilitated by the diverging hopper-like side walls 52 of the assembly 5|. It is only necessary that the ears be placed with the tip pointed toward the head frame 6. Any over-lapping of the ears, should this occur, will not result in jamming of the ears at the head mechanism because of the increased speed of the feed-in rollers 56 and 51 over the speed of travel of the chain 53. The side rails 66 function during the feed-in operation to laterally align each ear properly upon its axis of travel up to the point where it is engaged by the aligner roll and presser wheel assemblies.

In the event that the ears is of minimum diameter, the yieldingly mounted feed-in rollers 55 and 51 will remain in their normal position, but where the ear is of larger diameter the rollers 56 and 51 will yield slightly in a downward direction after initial engagement thereof by the presser wheel and aligner roll assemblies so that, without regard to ear diameter, there may always be full engagement between the rollers and the bottom side of the ear and hence proper conduct of the ear through the aligning mechanism, in the manner hereinafter described.

Once the ear has been engaged by the cooperating presser wheels I8 and aligner rolls II, the presser wheels I8 will be elevated by virtually riding up upon the car an amount determinable by the diameter of the car at that portion of its length immediately in registry therewith. Movement of the presser wheels I8 upwardly through their pivotal mountings 33, will, through the linkage 98, 95, 99, 9|, It, cause the shafts'IZ with their aligner rolls II to be drawn upwardly and outwardly, thus causing corresponding movement of the ear supporting surfaces I6 of the aligner rolls upon which the under side portions of the ear rest. The result of such operation of the parts is to cause the under side of the ear to lie in a certain and predetermined fixed horizontal position, without regard to the diameter of the ear and further without regard to slight irregularities in girth contour, one side relative to the other. This latter advantage is gained because of the fact that each presser wheel acts independently of the other, and each therefore controls its own aligner roll I I.

A further and important advantage attributable to the independently mounted presser wheels I8 is that, with an increase in diameter of the corn treated, the points of contact between presser wheels and aligner rolls, severally, spread further apart from one another thus more evenly to distribute engagement between the contacting parts of the mechanism and the side portions of the car. This procedure results in the accurate maintenance of the ear in its prescribed course of travel with its under side in the aforementioned fixed course of travel.

The importance of carrying the ear through a certain and fixed course of travel will be readily apparent after consideration of the carrier mechanism which transfers the ears from their final aligned position directly to the cutting knives, the operation of which is described in detail in a following portion of this specification.

As the ears are moved between the driven presser wheels I8 and aligner rolls II, the forward portion of the ear next engages the surfaces I01 and H2 of the presser plates I05 and retarding plates H38, the retarding plates yielding downwardly and acting under the influence of the springs H0 in such manner that endwise movement of the ear is resisted and the shoulder of the ear thus caused to travel about a portion of the aligner rolls. The weight of the presser assembly, including the presser wheels and plates, serve at this time to keep the shoulder of the ear in firm contact with the aligner rolls 'II so that husk, about the grain shoulder of the ear, is slightly crushed to enable the ear portion at the grain shoulder to travel close to the contacting portion of the aligner rolls thus automatically locating th grain shoulder for the final aligned position of the car.

As the ear, with its portion at the grain shoulder bearing upon the adjusted aligner rolls I I, travels about the portion of the aligner rolls as stated, it will gradually move downwardly lowering the presser assembly, although at this time the aligner rolls I! will not move inwardly because of the lost motion connection, in the linkage between the presser assembly and aligner assembly including the slotted arm 98, until the ear is in its final aligned position with the grain shoulder in vertical registry with the cutting knives H8 and H9.

When the ear arives at its said finally aligned position, it is engaged by the teeth I 26 and I 21 of the carrier wheels in such manner that the ear is carried vertically downwardly, its butt being forced through the cutting knives and severed from the grain bearing portion of the ear, and in each event, exactly at the grain shoulder. During such travel of the ear, the springs I3I will yield to permit the pairs of carrier wheels to move apart an amount determinable by the size of the ear, so that firm engagement between the carrier wheels and the car at spaced points intermediate the length of the ear is maintained.

It will be noted, see Fig. 6, that the teeth I23 and I27 on the carrier wheels I24 and I25 respectively are spaced apart from one another about the peripheries of the carrier wheels and that they are likewise spaced from the edges of the wheel peripheries. Such an arrangement provides relatively sizable areas or lands adjacent the inner ends of the teeth which serve to limit the depth of bite of the teeth into the husk portion of the ears during the ear carrying operation, thus to preclude injury to the grains by piercing, as might readily occur in the event such lands were not provided.

The car, during its passage from its finally aligned position through the cutting knives, will cause the retarding plates 58 to be moved downwardly, against the action of the springs H0, as such travel progresses. When a small car of corn is being carried downward, movement of the retarding plates will be aided by contact between the presser plates I05 and the bosses lid of the retarding plate assemblies.

In the event that the butt of the car has a stalk portion of sizeable dimension, the adjacent feedin rollers 57, or both sets of rollers 53 and 57, may be urged downwardly by engagement of the stalk therewith to permit its passage as the ear is carried downwardly by the carrier wheels. With reference to Fig. 4 it will also be noted that the angular relationship of the axes of the aligner rolls 'II is such that once the stalk portion of the butt has passed between the upper portions of the aligner rolls the stalk is immediately relieved from any possible retarding contact with the end surfaces of the rolls, a condition which would not exist should the aligner rolls be located on a common axis as heretofore proposed.

During the aligning of the ear, and while it is moving in contact with and relative to the presser plates I05, the slitting knife I31, see Fig. 9, will function to slit a portion of the husk longitudinally of the ear, but only for a depth definitely determined, without regard to ear diameter, by the extent to which the knife protrudes downwardly beyond the surface IilI of the presser plate upon which it is mounted. The husk of the car being slit as described is therefore prepared for more efiicient treatment by the ruiiier elements I38 of which those on the carrier support flange I 34 are longer than those of the flange I35.

The ruffier elements I38, which remain relatively stationary as the ear is carried downwardly by the carrier wheels, act to bite into the husk thus to tear the husk away from the grain rows and in general to render the husk susceptible to ready removal by the husking tumblers 5. Disengagement of the husk from possible entanglement upon the relatively sharp carrier wheel teeth E26 and I21 is facilitated by the contour of the carrier assembly housing flanges I34 and I35, as best illustrated in Fig. 6, so that the ear may be dropped, while in a horizontal position, as last carried by the wheels I24 and 125, directly upon the inclined surface l ll where the butt end striking first will cause the ear to move with its tip first engaging with the tumbler rolls 5. This latter movement of the ears is clearly indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that a machine constructed in accordance with my invention, subjects each ear of corn treated therein to identical, efficient slitting, debutting, rufiling and husking procedure, no matter what its length or diameter may be, nor however it may vary as to girth contour.

It will also be apparent that the machine by virtue of its construction and the arrangement of its parts is unusually compact. The housings enclosing all of the driving gear trains and the assemblies upon the primary shafts I! are all so designed as to facilitate lubrication by simple operation and in conventional manner. Ball bearings have been indicated as providing efficient anti-friction mountings for moving parts, although of course such bearings may be replaced, in manufacture, for any other desirable bearing means as particular requirements may dictate. This feature is in part attributable to the comp-act assemblies upon the primary shafts I1 and to the use of rotating carrier wheels in place of the more cumbersome carrier chains of previous machines, the use of which is made possible largely because of my improved aligning means as herein described.

It will be understood that while I have illustrated but one particular embodiment of my inventicn, in the form of a complete husking machine, that such embodiment may be varied greatly, as to design, without departing from within the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a corn husking machine, means for feeding corn ears tip first in the direction of the length thereof, means for thereafter feeding said corn ears sidewise, means for slitting the ear husks longitudinally while they are moving in the direction of their length, means for debutting the corn ears while they are being fed sidewise, and means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears.

2. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting the corn ear husks, means for debutting the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for imparting movement to the corn ears for successively presenting them first to said slitting means, next to said debutting means and then to said stripping means, said stripping means including rotating husking rolls between which the husks are gripped and thereby stripped from the ears, and means for causing the ears to first engage said rolls with the tips thereof angled downwardly.

3. In a corn husking machine, means for feeding corn ears in the direction of the length thereof, means for feeding said corn ears sidewise, means for slitting the ear husks longitudinally while they are moving in the direction of their length, means for debutting the corn ears while they are being fed sidewise, means for-rufiling the longitudinally slit husks while the ears are being debutted, and means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears.

4. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting thecorn ear husks, means for thereafter debutting the corn ears, rufiiing means engageable with the slit husks for loosening them from the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted-corn ears, andmeans for imparting movement to the corn ears for presenting them to said slitting means, said debutting means and said stripping means.

5. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting the corn ear husks, means for thereafter debutting the corn ears,- ruining means engageable with the slit husks for loosening them from the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted' corn ears, means for feeding the corn ears in the direction of their length to present them to saidslitting means, and means for feeding the corn ears sidewise for presenting them to said debutting means, said rufiling means and said stripping means.

means for feeding the aligned ears sidewise to the cutter devices to be debutted thereby, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, and milling means effective to loosen the-husks from the corn ears after they have been slit and prior to the stripping thereof from the ears.

7. In a corn husking machine, cutting means for debutting corn ears, aligning means for positioning the earsrelative to the cutting l means, a yieldably mounted presser mechanism cooperating with the aligning means, slitting means mounted on the presser mechanism for slittingthecorn ear huskslongitudinally of the ears as-they pass over the aligning means, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for imparting endwise movement to the corn ears tip first on to the aligning means, and means for thereaftermoving saidears sidewise to said cutting means and to said stripping means.

8. In acorn husking machine, cutting means for debutting corn ears, aligning means for pcsitioning the ears relative to the cutting means, a yieldably mounted presser mechanism cooperating with the aligning means, slitting means mounted on the presser mechanism for slitting the corn ear husks longitudinally of the ears as they pass over the aligning means, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for imparting endwise movement tothe corn ears tip first on to the aligning means, means for thereafter moving said ears sidewise to said cutting means and to said stripping means, and corn ear husk rufiling means effective to engage the ears while they are moving sidewise and loosen the husks from said ears prior to engagement with said stripping means.

9. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting the corn ear husks, means for debutting the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, and, means for imparting movement to the corn ears for successively presenting them to said slitting means, said debutting means and said stripping means, said feeding means including opposed positively driven rotary elements between which the corn ears pass and movable toward and from each other for following variations in corn ear contours, said slitting means being movable with certain of said rotary elements for following said varying corn ear contours and for controlling the depth of penetration through the corn ear husks.

10. In a corn husking machine, cutting means for debutting corn ears, an aligning roll against which corn ears engage and disposed for aligning corn ear butts with said cutting means, a presser wheel opposed to said roll and effective to press corn ears thereagainst, means mounting said roll and wheel for relative movement in compensation for variations in corn ear contours, a presser plate engageable with travelling corn ears moving into butt aligning relation with said roll and movable for corn ear contour variation compensating purposes with said wheel, a slitting blade mounted on said plate and effective to longitudinally slit the corn ear husks as the corn ear butts are being moved into alignment with said cutting means, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for imparting endwise movement to the corn ears tip first into butt aligning position, and means for moving said ears sidewise to said cutting means and to said stripping means.

11. In a corn husking machine, cutting means for debutting corn ears, an aligning roll against which corn ears engage and disposed for aligning corn ear butts with said cutting means, a presser wheel opposed to said roll and effective to press corn ears thereagainst, means mounting said roll and wheel for relative movement in compensation for variations in corn ear contours, a presser plate engageable with travelling corn ears moving into butt aligning relation with said roll and movable for corn ear contour variation compensating purposes with said wheel, a slitting blade mounted on said plate and effective to longitudinally slit the corn ear husks as the corn ear butts are being moved into alignment with means for moving corn ears sidewise past and in contact with said cutting means for debutting the same, and means stationarily mounted at said station for rufiling the slit husks on the ears as they are being debutted.

14. In a machine of the character described, means for longitudinally slitting the husks on corn ears, means for rufiling the slit husks, means for stripping the husks from the ears, said last named means including rotating husking rolls between which the husks are gripped and thereby stripped from the ears, and means for causing the ears to first engage said rolls with the tips thereof angled with respect to the roll axes.

15. In a corn husking machine, means for feeding corn ears in the direction of the length thereof, means for thereafter feeding said corn ears sidewise, means for debutting the corn ears while they are being fed sidewise, means engageable with the grain shoulder of the corn ears for aligning them with the debutting means, means for longitudinally slitting the husks on the corn ears as they are being aligned with the debutting means, and means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears immediately after the debutting thereof.

16. In a corn husking machine, means for feeding corn ears in the direction of the length thereof, means for thereafter feeding said corn ears sidewise, means for debutting the corn ears while they are being fed sidewise, means engageable with the grain shoulder of the corn ears for aligning them with the debutting means, means for longitudinally slitting the husks on the corn ears as they are being aligned with the debutting means, means yieldably engaging with and about the corn ears for holding them in complete control during the slitting and aligning thereof, and means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears immediately after the debutting thereof.

17. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting the corn ear husks, means for debutting the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for feeding the corn ears tip first in the direction of the length thereof to present them to said slitting means, means for feeding the corn ears sidewise for presenting them to said debutting means and said stripping means, and means yieldably engaging with and about the corn ears for holding them in complete ears, means for imparting endwise movement to Q the corn ears tip first into butt aligning position, means for moving said earssidewise through said cutting means and to said stripping means, and means eifective as the corn ears are moving through said cutting means to rufiie the previously slit husks and loosen them from the corn ears. 12. In a machine of the character described wherein is provided a corn ear debutting station, means for longitudinally slitting husks on the corn ears, debutting means at said station, means for moving corn ears sidewise past said station for debutting the same, and means at said station for rufiling the slit husks on the ears as they are being debutted.

13. In a machine of the character described wherein is provided a corn ear debutting station, means for longitudinally slitting husks on the corn ears, rotary cutter means at said station,

control while being slit and fed to the debutting means.

18. In a corn husking machine, means for longitudinally slitting the corn ear husks, means for debutting the corn ears, means for stripping the longitudinally slit husks from the debutted corn ears, means for feeding the corn ears tip first in the direction of the length thereof to present them to said slitting means, means for feeding the corn ears sidewise for presenting them to said debutting means and said stripping means, and means yieldably engaging with and about the corn ears for holding them in complete control while being slit and fed to the debutting means, said last named means including upper and lower corn ear engaging plates, and said slitting means comprising blade means carried by certain of said plates.

RALPH COVER. 

